Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-22
ever cruel enough to mark out any line
b .yond which they ceased to be young.

IleV are Sel1-reSpeCtlAg and respected,
these spinters, too. | wonder il it sounds
strange in more sophisticated ATTITUDES
to be told that there are to this day New
England towns il abundance where the
best educated and best bred Yankee girl +!
Of the best old colonial family can 60 INFO |
the shoe shop, as Lucy L9rC0m and her
compeers did into the Lowell mills, when |
mills ard shoe factories were new, ana |
worked there years after she ceased TO !
be girl, save by courtesy, and sIili read |
the Atlantic, and move IN, perhaps, leGd,
the most aristOcraGC society in the place.
Il is nOe such & bad thing 20 be an old
maid where you can work q ThsteGer
comes handiest without loss Of dignity,
and where your peighbOrS on both sides
aremorel likely than not IL be oldm2ids toe.
You are following WHIST is there the nat
ural destiny Of q woman. Il you marry;
then indeed comes the wonder, me sur
prise. Where did he cone from who is
he and how did it happen thst you to * c
| fancy to hin: Sometimes New England
village puts sn exaggerated value c.
man, especially s. newcomer, as & Iaro
! and unexpected being VINO opens new
possibilities to hall the girls in the place;
Dul Cftener the women grow so self de-
! u
, selves, that the unnecessary cTcsIure,
mar, must be very good indeed to be
good enough fer one OF them. There is
more CT less common sense floating
around in New England, and it is about
/ IS good place to DC 81 old maid il SO
one could find.
WORKED AFTER MARRIAGE.
The practical independence OF the Mag
sechusetts woman shows itself III e
monetary self-reGsnCe thst mas pleasant
and unpleasant aspects. l have Ill mind
G couple, type Of some thousands Of
others, who have been married six or
eight years perhaps. Before marriage ne
was foreman Of the I9steTs il the in
evitsble shoe msnufactOrv. She was boss
of the stitchiBg-rOOm. He earned per
haps SIS per week SIZE earned about
Sl2 to a. After merri8ge both re-
tanned their positions. II IS part OF the
creed Of the shoe towns that the shoe
maker S vile works Ia the shop. Usually
his wages compel her TO. When that is
not the case, habit, which has bred in
the shoemaker g way of giving his wife
no money, compels her TO, all the same.
This couple k3ep house. Theg have no
children. The wife il proud OF her meet
home and rises early and goes TO bed
late 20 keep it in order cut Ct working
hours. She washes summer and winter
before the sun is up. She irons
and cooks and seWs by lamplight.
She does ell her household duties
well, for she is a genuine old-time New
EGgland housewife. As an equivalent
for this home labor on lis wife's part the
husband pays the rent snd settles the
provision bills. Al other money that he
earns is MS end it would give him #
! shock OF surprise TO DE called upon for g
penny by his vile. Il she wants furniture
she buys it, and has invested q good deal,
first and lGst, in upholstery ard dainty
hapgiugs thst women love, Sac buys her
clothing and puts what she saves into Che
savings bank in her 0Wn name. TIE
financial relations Of the two are as well
defined and IS distinct from their con
iugal relations as if they were business
partners. Even in the matter Of benefit
associations they stand on On exact
equality He insures Tor her with the
Red Men, she insuree for him, and for tie
sane sum, in the Daughters II Pocohon-
tas, who lodges sre Offered and affairs
conducted entirely by women. He pays
his assessments, she pays hers.
have seen this instance repeat Itself
iinnumer&ble times. When husband and
wife are OF the right sort the arrange
Ement does not work badly. The money
. making power OF the wife in such prac.
tical community ilsures her respect anC
: improves her position. Both bank &C
counts prosper if the pair are prudent
and the time comes when they can buy {
homestead together on very even terms
When there are children or the char&c
4 tera are i'll balanced it does not 90 81
l well. There are women in plenty WhC
l ere dying by inches because their husbands
! know that they can support themselves
ard by withholding supplies compel tjeu
1 TO do so in spite OF a growing family ant
: work enough at home for any woman
strength. It is not so many women WIN
D are physically able to do two days worl
= in one, nor so many men who can b.
= trusted with the knowledge that they ca
? get so much from their wives if they try
: great many people have studied tn
l New England girl, but her exact chGrac
, teristiCs are HARD to hit. Il il the ab
e sence of certain characteristics, not ia
/ presence OF any, that strikes e straDge
first. she has not the spice Of the Ney
: Yorker, the luXurlanCe Of the soUthelneY
5 the dash of the westerner. You mis-
5 somethIng aoou. her. She IS quiet az
y reserved in her dress, but not sever
K enough FOR that to strike you IS Gistju
q gushing mark. You meet her a secoa
! time snd third before you csu eppIy :
II her any special attributes Whatever
= Then, at last, you perceive thst she is +,
: enough from being neutral. 1t is OIL
u that sitter roses an interval is necesss or
|, before one can appreciate yiolets. You
d true New Highlander is geen in her perte,
e ton in Boston, and Howells, and tn
: whole crop Of Boston girl uewspape
. Jokes to the contrary not Notwithstanding
Il she is far enough from being aggressive
l. Neither, on the other hand, is she ICY
q She is simply self-contained, vii
s interest enough in life not to rush i
J. utter boredom with open arms ct sn
y new sensation, living in world OF he
q, own, but ready after minute OF consic
/. or:..Jn, 10 meet you ff0m a third 10 rs
IL way. She locks at you with very stTaigh
q forward eyes, and if she likes you wi
ig let you see that she ms some serou
er notions in life, end holds herself t
IN rather strict account for her dispositiC
IN OF her time. II she likes you very muc
es she will show you further that she hi
n II